Best Recommends - Top 10 Best Free Movie Editor in 2020

Top 10 Best Free Movie Editor in 2020

If you are looking for a movie editor, I am sure you also have a lot of expectations. Afterall you plan to create a cinematic experience out of your videos. It's not just about splitting and deleting parts of videos; it is also about the effects, filters, transitions, and more. So here is our curated list best free video editor in 2020. Make sure to go through all the features and make your choice. Free doesn't always mean easy!

We have selected video editors based on specific criteria. The first criteria is the platform, and the second is categorization according to the ease of use, i.e., beginners, amateurs, and professionals. We have tried our best to include free and open-source software where it was possible.

I will strongly suggest picking one of these based on the complexity of the interface and learning curve. While some are, you will have to depend on how to guide for the software, which is a bit complex.

Top Recommended - Best Free Movie Editor for Windows Beginners

EaseUS Video Editor is an all-in-one video editor, which you can use to create almost anything from media files. You can create a slideshow, make home videos, edit audio for a podcast, add incredible video effects, mix music tracks, and more. The software offers an easy to use interface with a perfect balance of features.

You get 300+ free visual and audio effects in the form of text, filters, overlays, transitions, elements, and music. Along with essential editing tools like split, trim, mosaic, you also get a professional timeline feature. It allows you to place videos and effects in parallel (non-linear) to create a professional video by combining the effects at the right place and top of each other.

Special Features:

Speech and Text converter: It helps you create transcripts for any video which allows you to add captions in your videos.

Voice Over: Add your voice after you have shot the video. It helps you add your expressions and If you need to explain something.

Mosaic: Allows you to hide part of the video for privacy. If you need to protect faces or sensitive information, use this feature.

Pros:

Easy to use interface, especially for beginners.

You can export videos in almost all formats, including only audio, video, and upload to social media formats.

Visual effects do not cost anything, even in the free version.

If you want to make your images punchy or pop, then you can edit contrast, saturation, highlight, etc.

Blur the background, zoom part of the image and videos, and add motion effects.

Detach audio from the video, which is useful when you have recorded audio separately.

Top Best Free Movie Editor for Windows - 4 Picks

1. Machete Video Editor Lite

Features:

It's a lightweight video editor that offers all tools which allow you to edit the movie files. You can cut, copy, delete, and even paste part of the video file from one section to another. One of the exciting features of the software is the tag. Details like title, artist names, and more can be added, which can be useful for the final output.

Using the software is straight forward. First, drag and drop the supported files, and then you can figure out parts of the video which have to be removed. Mark the start, end, and then you can choose to delete it. The same be used to copy part of the video, and then paste it somewhere else. The editor allows you to export only part of the video or save the frame.

Pros:

Simple video editor, which is handy if you do not want a complicated interface.

2. Windows Video Editor

Features:

Windows offers a built-in video editor, which is pleasing compared to the above software. Not only it supports a range of file format, but it also allows you to add background music, add filters, 3D effects, text, and so on. You can create projects, add multiple videos (linear only) and is very useful if you need to tool to cut videos quickly and curate the best part out of it

Pros:

Straight forward to use with all basic editing features, including trim, split, change speed, and more.

Add 3D effects to your video by importing 3D objects available in the library

Add external audio to an existing video

Add images directly from the web using Bing image search

Cons:

Tedious to use, especially when you need to edit the videos

The timeline doesn't offer parallel placement of videos and images

Transition effects are the bare minimum

3D effects are not very exciting

Best for: basic editing and suitable for beginners only

It comes preinstalled in Windows 10.

3. VSDC Free Video Editor

Features:

When using this movie editor, you can stack the media elements on top of each other. Then you can use tools like blending, masking filters, and motion tracking to get the expected output. It offers non-linear editing experience where you mix and match effects audios. However, it is still complicated for a general consumer, especially for those who want to edit the video, add some effects, and get it done.

One of the most annoying parts of the software is that there are too many icons to look at. A general user will end up more confused and will have to spend a lot of time in learning.

Pros:

It offers multiple templates to get started with your project quickly.

High-speed conversion using an algorithm optimized for single and multi-core CPUs.

Advanced features include video capture, screen capture, voice recorder, a disc burner, and a YouTube uploader.

Cons:

Settings are not natural to change as they offer popular code editor-style like Visual Studio

It provides a sophisticated user interface that is not suitable for beginners.

Best for: advanced editing and suitable for amateurs, and professionals

Download VSDC: http://www.videosoftdev.com/free-video-editor/download

4. Shotcut

Features:

Looking for a free video editor which can help you edit 4K videos? Shotcut is just the movie editor that you need. The best part of using this video editor is that it doesn't bombard the end-user with tons of menus right up. Instead, it hides all its sophisticated menus, which show up only when you access them.

That said, Shotcut offers a vast library of audio and video filters, which is easy to implement. The timeline provides module workflow making it easy to align images and videos. It also maintains a visual history, i.e., you can read the exact changes you made, e.g., split clip, append to track, and so on.

Pros:

Webcam and audio capture

If you have Blackmagic Decklink card, you can do external monitoring on NTSC monitor

FFmpeg support makes sure for broader support of video and audio file formats

Color, text, noise, and counter generators

Export frame as an image

4K resolution support

Cons:

No proper documentation and video tutorials.

It lacks flashy transitions and effects compared to other software.

Best for: advanced editing and suitable for amateurs, and professionals

Download Shotcut: https://shotcut.org/

Top Best Free Movie Editor for Mac - 5 Picks

If you are using a MacBook, then there are a lot of options available for you also. Apple offers iMovie for free, which is decent enough for beginners, while Final Cut Pro X is popular among video editors. Here are our picks for the top best free movie editor for Mac.

1. iMovie

Features:

There is a reason why macOS users love Mac—it is the best when it comes to creative purposes. iMovie is a classic example of this. This software is available for free to all macOS users, and it's a perfect tool to create movies without much effort. On top, you can also create trailers. You can apply cinematic effects to the selected clips, supports green screen backgrounds, and picture-in-picture mode if you plan for some gaming videos.

Pros:

Free for all macOS users

Excellent Templates for creating trailers and movies

Supports 4K videos

Cons:

Limited in terms of features compared to other editors

Best for: basic editing and suitable for beginners.

Download iMovie: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/imovie/id377298193

2. Final Cut Pro X

Features:

If you create videos for YouTube, I am sure you have heard about this tool, and chances are you are using it as well. It is the tool that everyone looks up to. There are two reasons. First, it is very intuitive to use, and second, it takes a shorter time to render compared to other video editors available for macOS. It has its advantage over others as both hard and software are from Apple. It is built on 64-bit architecture for handling large projects and video size.

Pros:

Optimized for macOS for best performance

It can handle 4K, VR and 360 degrees videos

Comprehensive support for third-party plug-ins

Multicam support

Noise reduction support

Advanced color grading with HDR support

RAW and ProRes support

Cons:

It takes time to get used to it

Trial available, and then it will cost $299, which is expensive.

Best for: advanced editing and suitable for amateurs and professionals.

Download Final Cut Pro X: https://www.apple.com/in/final-cut-pro/

3. Adobe Premiere Pro

Features:

Not only it offers more flexibility compared to Final Cur Pro, but it is also viral among the film industry. One of the recent updates last year made it even more useful. It's called a Freeform view, which allows the editor to organize videos into custom layouts, storyboards, and more. It is more of a production-oriented video editor, and that's what makes it popular.

Pros:

Multiplatform support makes sure you can switch between them if that's your need.

Brilliant workflow automation and media asset management.

The freeform view is useful for final production.

Auto ducking to add ambient sounds.

Cons:

Compared to FCP, it is even tougher to learn. You may have to spend a lot of time to learn it.

4. Hitfilm Express

If you are looking for a movie editor that falls somewhere between iMovie and Final Cur Pro, then you need to pick HitFilm Express. It is free, but If you like it, you can upgrade to the Pro version.

The best part is that if you want to learn the software, you can use their extensive and regular tutorials to create FX footage from hit movies. It also offers a technical support team and an active online community.

Pros:

2D and 3D compositing,410+ effects and pre-sets.

Unlimited tracks and transitions, along with support to vertical videos.

Multiple streams, PIP, Adaptive Trimmer.

Enhanced workflow and timeline.

Cons:

The free version is limited, and you will need to buy addons to utilize it fully.

Best for: advanced editing and suitable for armatures and professionals.

Try Hitfilm Express: https://fxhome.com/hitfilm-express

5. Lightworks Pro

Features:

Along with Adobe, Lightworks Pro has a massive place among movie editors. It has been built for big-screen projects, and not just TV and social media. It offers professional-grade video editor with all required professional features.

Pros:

It can integrate with Blackmagic Fusion (VFX for movies) and Boris FX plug-ins..

Supports a wide variety of formats.

Timeline support for format and codec, along with resolution.

Multi-shot editing.

Cons:

There is a free version available, but it is limited. You can also get a full license for $437.99.

Free version limited to 720p and hardware rendering

Best for: advanced editing and suitable for armatures and professionals.

Tutorial: How to Create Movie Video with Best Free Movie Editor

Every time you launch it, it will prompt you to select an aspect ratio. When it comes to movie editing, you must know for which device or screen you are creating it.

If you are creating a video for social media, Portrait mode makes more sense. If you are doing it for the big screen, the Wide mode should be your choice. It also offers 1:1(Instagram) and 3:4 (Taobao) aspect ratios.

Step 2: Add media files

This software offers six sections in the movie editor— text, filters, overlays, transitions, elements, and music. You can call them your tools to cinematic effects to your videos. Each of them offers a wide variety of collections. You can download, preview, and then apply to the videos.

Step 3: Add media files to timeline

The timeline offers a parallel stack or non-linear timeline where each of the elements, as mentioned above, can be placed. It is the place where you drop your videos, effects, music, and then use the playhead (the blue vertical line) to navigate through it. Do note that except for the video track, you can change the order of the rest of the tracks.

To see a preview of any file, select it, and click the play button of the video player.

Step 4: Editing and Adding effects

The software offers all the necessary features like trim, split, and rotate. Along with these, you also get access to movie-centric features, including mixing audio, zooming, adding style with effects such as transitions, overlays, and more. There are over fifty visual and transition effects that enable you to add a professional touch to your movies.

Visual and transition effect: You get access to over fifty visual and transition effects. You have Texts, Filters, Overlays, Transitions, Elements.

Voice Over: If part of the video needs explaining, and you want to jump in with your voice, use the voice over the section.

Speech and Text Converter: When you are creating a movie-style video, this video editor provides an inbuilt speech and text converter which can convert the audio and generate caption out of it.

Speed up or Slow down: When the shot video is getting too long, you can increase or decrease the speed of the video. You can also reverse a video.

Step 5: Export Videos

You can export the final video in three major formats —Video, Audio, and Social Platform.

Make sure to choose the right resolution when you export any video. Exporting or rendering video doesn’t take much time as it is not hardware intensive. However, the total time will depend on the length of the video. And output resolution

Conclusion

When it comes to choosing a movie editor, it is not just about free and best solutions. It also about the balance of features and ease of use. The list clearly shows how a sophisticated tool is not for everyone and a tool if not easy to use; it is equally bad.

If you are looking for a solution that offers pro-like features but has almost a minimum learning curve, then EaseUS Video Editor offers a perfect balance. It is an excellent tool that provides a wide range of features one would expect in a movie editor.